Having the proper tools is critical to a job that is well done. Those who perform physical labor can readily attest that the proper tools can save time and money, produce a higher quality job, increase safety, and reduce damage to equipment and to the job site.
Each field of work has its own specialty tools that perform specialized tasks. Electricians and their helpers often face the specialized but common task of pulling wires or cables through conduits, wall cavities, ceiling cavities, and the like. To do so electricians often employ a fish tape (sometimes called a draw wire or draw tape). A fish tape is a thin, flattened, relatively rigid, continuous steel band that can be pushed and guided (fished) through conduits, wall cavities, ceiling cavities, and the like. Once the end of the fish tape is through, wires or cables are attached to the exposed end. The fish tape is then pulled back through the conduits, wall cavities, ceiling cavities and the like along with the attached wires or cables. When the ends of the wires or cable are exposed they are removed from the fish tape and electrically connected. This process can be repeated as many times are required.
Fish tapes work very well and have been successfully used around the world for many decades. The are tough, rugged, long lasting, easy to use, relatively low in cost, are capable of being used by one person (albeit two (2) people make most jobs much easier). Furthermore, as almost all fish tapes are stored coiled on a reel, hundreds of feet of fish tape can be easily carried and used by unwinding the fish tape from the reel. But, therein lies probably the biggest problem with fish tape. After the fish tape is used and the wire or cable has been pulled there can be literally hundreds of feet of a continuous steel band lying around.
Re-spooling hundreds of feet of fish tape can be both tiring and time consuming. Do it several times a day and your arms and hands can hurt and you lose valuable productive time. Therefore, a need exists for a technique that enables easy and quick rewinding of fish tapes onto reels. Beneficially, such rewinding can be done at reasonable cost by a single person.